Wrench making method



April 4, 1961 "r. o. RUEB 2,977,824 WRENCH MAKING METHOD Filed Dec. 8,1958 ATTORNEYS.

, the handle as the two showing the yoke tempered;

United States Patent WRENCH MAKING METHOD Theodore Otto Rneb, Chicago,11]., assignor to The Sherman Klove Company, Chicago, 111., acorporation of Delaware Filed Dec. 8, 1958, Ser. No. 778,856

2 Claims. (Cl. 76-114) This invention relates to a method of making awrench and particularly one of the type in which the wrench head has apair of trunnions and a handle of yoke or forked typeto coact with thetrunnions in such manner that the handle can be swung to an overheadposition with respect to the wrench head, to a lateral position with re-2,977,824 Patented Apr. 4, 1961 Fig. 4 shows the yoke released onto thetrunnions;

Fig. 5 is a plan view partially in section showing the yoke sprungtogether and held by a cap screw;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary portion of Fig. 5 showing the head of the capscrew plugged and the head and lower end of the screw trimmed;

Fig. 7 is a partial sectional view on the line 7-7 of characterized by ashank 12, a yoke 14 and a hand grip spect thereto or to any angle inbetween the two in .accordance with the space available for turning thewrench head by means of the handle.

One object of the invention'is to provide a handle which may be made andassembled in relation to the wrench head by my disclosed method toproduce a neat appearing assembly,and one which is practical andefiicient, and utilizes a minimum of material in the manufacture of thewrench.

Another object is to provide a method that produces a yoke typehandle-in which the yoke arms are in all effective respectsjntegral,,,,a lthough they are spread apart to fit over the trunnions during theassembly operation.

Still another object is to provide a wrench making method in which thewrench handle is forged to shape including a yoke for the wrench head,then slotted and I the yoke spread beyond the elastic limit thereof toassume a shape that has to be sprung further to go over the trunnions ofthe wrench head, then tempered to give it the desired strength, afterwhich the yoke may be sprung apart to a position to -fit over the wrenchhead trunnions and then sprung together to substantially close the slotand bolted, riveted or otherwise secured in this position with the twoportions of the wrench handle on opposite sides of the slot rigidlyconnected together for maximum strength of the handle during subsequentmanipulations thereof for rotating the wrench head.

A further object is to provide a frictional connection between thewrench head and the wrench handle comprising flat spring washers whichare sprung to cup shape by the yoke as it is closed by my method on thewrench head due to a globular surface thereof and a complementaryconcave spherical surface within the yoke of g are clamped together bythe bolt or rivet. a

With these and other objects in view, my invention consists in theforming of -a wrenchhandle and the assembly thereof to ya wrench headby. my wrench making method, whereby the objects above contemplated areattained, as hereinafter more fully set forth, pointed out in my claimsand illustrated in panying drawing, wherein: I

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a forged wrench handle used in my wrench makingmethod, the forging thereof being the first step in the method; 7

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the left end portionthcreof spread to adesircdshape and then Fig. 3 is a similar view showing the yoke sprungapart after tempering. for placing it over the trunnions of the wrenchhead;

detail on the accom 16. The wrench handle 10 may be forged to the shapeshown in Fig. 1 including a concave spherical surface 14 and thenslotted as indicated at 18 which forging and slotting constitute thefirst twosteps of my method. The slotting produces a pair ofyoke arms14.

The third step consists in spreading the'two yoke arms 14 beyond theirelastic limit, and the degree of spread is such that when the yoke armsare released they take up a position to about half way clear thetrunnions 22 I of a wrench head indicated generally at 20. Half-waymarks on the trunnions are indicated at 22.

The fourth step in my method is to temper the handle 10 to impart to itthe desired strength for use as a lever in turning the wrench head 20,and to give the yoke arms 14 the characteristics of a spring. 7

Fifth, the yoke arms 14 are sprung apart as'indicated by the arrow 26 inFig. 3 so that they can pass over the trunnions 22 as indicated by thearrows 2 8 and trunnion openings 15 assume a position of alignment withthe trunnions 22. Sixth, the arms are released and they spring back tothe position shown in Fig. 4 which is the same as depicted in Fig. 2.Seventh, the yoke arms are sprung together as indicated by the arrows 30in Fig. 5 and eighth, are secured together with a suitable spacer washer34 therebetween by a cap screw or the like 32. The wrench handle nowbears a pivotal relationship to the wrench handle such that it may beswung upright relative thereto, or to an angular position as spacepermits for rotating or oscillating the wrench head.

It is desirable, between steps four and five, to place on the trunnions22 flat spring friction washers 24 to be deformed to spherical shape asshown in Figs. 5, 6 and 7. The thickness of the washer 34 is such thatthe yoke arms 14 deform the initially flat washers 24 to the sphericalshape as just mentioned, the periphery of the wrench head 20 beinglikewise spherical as indicated at 20. The spherical surface 20 and theconcave surface 14 of the yoke arms 14 provide close following of-thesurface 14 over the surface 20 during the adjustment of the wrenchhandle 10 from one position to another. The

- close approach of the two surfaces also provides maxi mum strength inthe handle 10. 1

Another contributing factor to maximum strength is the clamping tightlytogether of the two'arms 14 and the intervening spacer washer 34 by thescrew 32, the thickness of the washer 34 being selected for propertensioning of the spring washer 24 as desired.

After the parts are assembled as in Fig. 5, the hexagon opening in thescrew 32 is filled in by welding or the like'indicated at 36, the headof the screw 32 is trimmed otf to the surface 32*? and the lower end, ofthe screw is trimmed off to the surface32 illustrated in Figs. 6 and 8for neat appearance and to provide smooth surfaces that do not catch onclothing and the like.

A modified arrangement is shown in Fig. 8 wherein a rivet 38 having ahead740 and riveted at 42 is used in place of the screw 32, or othersuitable means may be provided for connecting the two parts of theforked handle 10 together rigidly at this point so as to provide aneffective integral connection between the yoke arms 14.

In Fig. 6 I illustrate a ratchet wrench mechanism such as shown in myPatent No. 2,232,477 which may be assembled to the wrench head 20, orother mechanisms such as shown in my Patent Nos. 2,657,604 or 2,744,432may be used to complete the wrench assembly. Summarizing the steps of mymethod:

(1) The handle 10 is forged to the desired shape (Fig. 1).

(2) The handle 10 is slotted at 18 (Fig. 1 dotted).

(3) The arms of the handle 10 are spread beyond their elastic limit tothe indicated dimension 22 (4) The handle 10 of the shape shown in Fig.2 is tempered.

(4a) The spring washers 24 are placed on the trunnions 22 (Fig. 3).

(5) The yoke arms 14* are sprung apart (Fig. 3) to pass over the wrenchhead trunnions.

(6) The arms 14 are released to spring back to the Fig. 2 position (Fig.4). a (7) The yoke arms 14 are sprung together (Fig. 5). (8) The yokearms are secured solidly together (Fig. 5). (8a) The securing means isplugged if necessary and trimmed to the contour of the wrench handle asshown in Figs. 6 and 8.

Certain changes may be made in the steps of my wrench making methodwithout departing from the real spirit and purpose of my invention, andit is my intention to cover by my claims any equivalent steps which may4 together a two-part wrench having ahead provided with oppositeprojections and a handle provided with a pair of perforated arms to,receive said projections, comprising the steps of; forging said handle,slotting the same to provide said arms, spreading said arms beyond theirelastic limit and permitting them to return to a set positionsubstantially one-half the requirement for going over said projections,tempering said wrench handle, springing said arms apart to go over saidprojections and releasing them, springing said arms together at a pointclosely adjacent said wrench head for a working fit on said projections,and permanently and rigidly connecting said arms together at said pointin their sprung-together position.

2. The method of making and connecting together a two-part wrench havinga head provided with opposite projections and a handle provided with apair of arms having perforations to receive said projections and secondperforations, comprising the steps of; forging said handle, slotting thesame to provide said arms, spreading said arms beyond their elasticlimit and permitting them to return to a set position substantiallyone-half the requirement for going over said projections, tempering saidwrench handle, springing said arms apart to go over said projections andreleasing them, springing said arms together at said second perforationsfor a working fit on said projections, entering a fastening elementthrough said second perforations to solidly, rigidly and perma-.

nently connect said arms together, and trimming said fastening elementflush with the surface of said wrench handle.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS562,689 Willows June 23, 1896

